In a typical distribution system of signals in a content delivery network, such as for cable or satellite television, there are various components that reside on a single physical system or on separate systems linked by one or more communication networks. Such content delivery networks may include content providers which provide content delivered across the network, such as audio, video, data, applications, or combinations thereof.
In a content delivery network, the content is typically provided by content providers into the content delivery network as one or more signals. Such signals are typically encoded to prevent unauthorized access and use of the signal. Receivers, such as digital television receiver units, receive from the network and use such encoded signals for use by users. A receiver typically includes a decode function so that receivers may make use of the encoded signals it receives from the content delivery network. A content delivery network also typically includes a conditional access system connected to the network, which controls the content that any particular receiver may access and use. The conditional access system typically operates in conjunction with the receivers to control the content that any one receiver may access and use. A receiver typically perform checks with the conditional access system to determine the particular content that it is permitted to receive and use, and then decode only such authorized content.
The content delivery network will also typically contain other systems such as subscriber management systems for maintaining and billing customer subscriptions, pay-per-view, video-on-demand, interactive television and other systems which may in turn have records or subsystems used for controlling access to services, features or content, which may be directly or indirectly related to the conditional access system.
Access to various services available on the network is typically controlled through authorizations entered into the subscriber management system. Individual subsystems may in turn have records relating to individual receiver service authorizations. Such records of authorization may in one form or another be duplicated on various systems, and each system may independently exert control over access to the related service or signal.
Receivers may also be in a variety of inventory states for management purposes. Such states may include the receiver being on a valid subscriber account, in inventory, in test mode, or other status known to those of skill in the art. Such inventory states may have service authorizations associated with them, or may be characterized by a lack of authorizations. For example, a receiver in a “test” state would be assumed to have service authorization to allow an operator to verify the functioning of a receiver, and would assume that the receiver is in a location used for testing by the network operation. As another example, a receiver in “stolen”, “lost”, “defective” or similar status in which it would not be expected to be connected to the network status would be assumed to be in a null set of locations.
A conditional access system or and other systems with service or signal authorization records may not necessarily provide facilities for a large number of content providers to enter authorizations or to manage billing and other customer-oriented functions. Likewise, conditional access systems known in the art may not provide interfaces or functions for the handling of large volumes of transactions except through a connection to a subscriber management system. Where such facilities may be provided within a conditional access system, network operators may not be accustomed to using them, as they may not provide convenient or easily usable interfaces, and they may not include logging and other audit trail mechanisms.
Additional background details regarding content delivery networks, conditional access systems, and technologies deployed therein are described in the following United States patents, which are hereby incorporated by reference:
4,461,032to Skerlos4,510,623to Bonneau et al.5,146,496to Westerfer et al.5,224,161to Daniel et al.5,880,769to Nemirofsky et al.5,970,206to Yuen et al.6,067,440to Diefes5,485,518to Hunter et al.5,828,402to Collings5,438,620to Ryan et al.
Errors in receiver configuration may result in inventory management difficulties and inappropriate usage. A receiver in a “test” status may be considered innocuous. However, if a receiver is in test status with authorization and not located at the network operator's warehouse or other approved test site, then it may have been stolen and inappropriately used. Receivers may be inadvertently defined on multiple systems. At a minimum, this could result in inventory, budget or other accounting error related to the management of receiver expenses. In a more serious vein, a receiver that was stolen from one system could be authorized on another system.
Services to a set of receivers may be advantageously priced because of a common factor usually related to location of the receivers. For example, if a subscriber is paying for services on a first receiver, services for additional receivers in the same home may be discounted or even eliminated. An operator may offer advantageous pricing to a group of receivers in locations such as an apartment building, condominium or other development, and the pricing is only for receivers used within that location. Usage of such a receiver in another location would be considered inappropriate by the operator.
Operational errors, software or hardware problems or other sources of errors may cause discrepancies to occur between subscriber management systems, conditional access systems and other systems such as video-on-demand servers. In such a cases, it may be possible for a receiver to access a service or signal which the network operator does not intend to distribute for that receiver.
There is a need for a system and method for identifying and reconciling differences in indicia of location within various systems to control receiver service access and inventory.